He should have, of course, this being his third time announcing the end of an NHL lockout. The question is whether his words will ring true for years to come or serve as fodder against him in another eight or 10 years.

Gary Bettman was back behind the most famous podium in sports, and he was feeling apologetic. (AP Photo)

At the same Times Square hotel where talks with the NHL broke down a month ago over barely perceptible differences from what became the final CBA, the commissioner of the NHL issued a wide-ranging apology for the length of the lockout, and pledged action.

"I'm sorry," Bettman said. "I know that an explanation or an apology will not erase the hard feelings that have built up over the past few months, but I owe you an apology nevertheless. ... I read the letters. I followed the tweets. I read the blogs. We have a lot of work to do. The National Hockey League has a responsibility to earn back your trust and support, whether you watch one game or every game, and that effort begins today."

Based on what he said, Bettman seems to grasp the fact that unless there are significant, tangible, visible steps taken to restore the trust of fans, players, and sponsors over the life of the new CBA, his league will be forever doomed to obscurity.

Owners, general managers and players across the league understand it, too. Many have already apologized, whether verbally and in writing, and that will certainly continue.

"If you're in a relationship, once in a while, you have to apologize. Once in a while, you have to ask for forgiveness. Once you have that forgiveness, you've gotta move on," Predators GM David Poile said Wednesday.

The six-month negotiation process between the league and union was almost universally one of two steps forward, one step back. It has been the same for a league that has flirted with mainstream popularity, only to trip over its own feet with labor disputes.

So, while it was great to hear Bettman say of the new CBA, "This is a good deal. This is a fair deal," it could not be forgotten that he was saying those words from behind the most famous podium in North American sports, the same one from behind which he had called the previous CBA "too fair" on the eve of the lockout in September.

If that was some fancy verbal footwork, it was nothing compared to the 180 that Bettman pulled when talking about Donald Fehr. For months, the league sought to discredit the union's leader, and to run an end-around on an adversary who was a step ahead at every turn. This is the same Donald Fehr whose mere presence at the negotiating table was deemed to be a dealbreaker last month, when the lockout coulda, woulda, shoulda ended. Now? His presence is somehow invaluable.

"The union, I believe, under the framework and leadership that Don has provided, will now have greater stability," Bettman said. "You've had, what, five different executive directors (of the NHLPA) in the last eight years. We believe that with this agreement, and the length of this agreement, and the way that the union has reconstituted itself and the players have come together, it bodes well for the future relationship."

The only way that is true is if Bettman and the NHL owners have realized from this lockout that they can no longer bank on pushing the players around. Maybe, rather than pursuing a course of mutually assured destruction, they will actually be able to work together and avoid putting the hockey world through something like this again.

"We build a relationship," Bettman said. "We have, for the first time in eight years, a stable union with strong leadership. That gives us an opportunity to work together as partners, and build a relationship and build trust, which can only happen over time."

The NHLPA is not the only organization with which Bettman must build trust. More immediately, he must find a way to build a relationship with the Kontinental Hockey League, the Russian circuit that has started to expand into other European countries and where many NHL players spent the lockout. New Jersey Devils star Ilya Kovalchuk is still there, listed on the roster for the KHL All-Star Game on Sunday, which could mean that he misses the start of training camp with the NHL's defending Eastern Conference champions.

Bettman would not address whether missing camp time would put Kovalchuk in violation of his contract, but he did say of the NHL players who went overseas, "I can't imagine why they wouldn't want to." Perhaps he has trouble visualizing whether the tax-free inducement from Russian president Vladimir Putin would be delivered by check, direct deposit, or armored truck. On Tuesday, KHL president Alexander Medvedev came right out and said it: "If players decide to stay, we will help them," adding that he thought the new CBA may provide the basis for terminating existing contracts.

The NHL is not in danger of slipping from its pedestal as the best hockey league in the world, but it is much harder to sell the idea of having the world's best players when some of them stay home. Building a better relationship with the KHL, and working together to promote hockey globally, has to be high on Bettman's fence-mending to-do list.

Nobody expects Kovalchuk to stay in Russia forever, but after a lockout during which multiple Russian players threatened to remain in the KHL long-term, including Alex Ovechkin, there must be recognition that it is a danger the next time around, if there is a next time around. Even if there isn't, the NHL only stands to benefit from working with the KHL to grow the game, just as is the case with the players.